Chapter 12 – Smoked Out

More storm troopers burst through both sets of doors and into the main body of the hotel. The smoke from the fire raging in the basement provided a hazy cover for them to move through. Spike was taken down first as he was unable to fight back against humans. Luckily though they were more intent on their targets and didn't waste time in taking him out. Once he went down he stayed down and covered his head hoping that this would end before he was trampled to death. He didn't pause to consider the fact that vampires couldn't really be trampled to death.

Mostly they focused their efforts on Buffy. They tag-teamed her; if one went down, another two took its place. They were well trained but had to rely upon technique rather than power, showing off remarkable martial art and kick boxing skills that really didn't stand up to the test of a furious Slayer. Buffy was powering through them like a bull dozer. Using more force than finesse she worked to cause maximum damage in order to thin the crowd. She shattered bones with single punches, only holding back enough to ensure that she didn't kill anyone. She was a powerhouse of motion. She spun, kicked and punched her way through the black figures, a swirl of golden hair being all that was really visible of her. Riley and Gunn were also targeted but on a lesser scale and only if the commandos actually made it past Buffy. Cordelia and Wesley worked back to back, throwing everything that they had at the men, including the fresh pot of coffee that Cordelia had made and a rather heavy dictionary of demons. Giles and Xander also did what they could to thin the herd, but they just seemed to keep coming.

And then they stopped and fled the building as quickly as they came, like cockroaches scuttling away from the light.

With barely a pause they switched from fighting mode to preserve mode and despite the bruises went to help Willow, Tara and Anya with the fire in the basement, grabbing the spare fire extinguisher on the way.

When the flames were finally out they had time to stop and survey the damage. Most of the objects that had been stored in the basement had been destroyed. All of the training equipment, the washer and dryer, the clothes they'd contained, the odd chairs and tables and the extra weapons were either burnt to a cinder or chard beyond repair. Luckily all the support beams were metal and concrete and so no structural damage had occurred. It was going to take weeks to clean up – if the room could be salvaged at all. Or, as was more likely, if they could be bothered to salvage the room at all.

Angel wasn't going to be best pleased.

The lobby didn't look much better. The glass doors were shattered and the glass shards littered the floor. Both of the red sofas had been upended and one of them had had the stuffing ripped out of it. Smoke had stained the walls. Books were scattered everywhere, Angel's desk had been demolished and his chair had been overturned. In short the place was the definition of chaos.

Angel really wasn't going to be pleased.

The group looked haggard and were exhausted. Verbal spats, fights and fires weren't conducive to a days rest. Yet there was no time to sit and relax, they needed to know what the commandos had wanted and they needed to know quickly. Wesley started checking the rare volumes and scrolls that he had stored in the office safe and Cordy was checking the computer files. Nothing seemed to be missing. Gunn reported that nothing had been taken from the weapons cabinet either.

This didn't make sense.

"Are you sure that nothing is missing? Because that wasn't just a random attack – that had a purpose." Cordy was worried. Things like that didn't just happen, not to them. But Wesley was right. Despite everything being out of place and practically destroyed, everything was still there.

"Riley, any chance you recognise those guys? I mean with you being special ops guy and all."

"Buffy they weren't Initiative. I also don't think that they were government."

"No, they were Wolfram and Hart."

Cordelia was utterly convinced of that fact. The way they had got into the hotel, the fact that they had targeted Buffy and Spike first, then Riley and Gunn. The distraction of the fire in the basement and the trashing of the office – it was too planned. It absolutely reeked of the lawyers from hell and considering the fact that they hadn't heard from them for awhile… well AI was a favourite pastime of theirs and it was unlikely they would just give up.

"I have to agree with Cordelia. Although, I can't tell what they wanted. We haven't got in their way recently. We don't have anything that they would want…"

"When do those fools need a reason to mess with us?"

"Look, there's not that much we can do for now. We'd better get this place cleared up before Angel gets back otherwise… well I won't be showing him the basement. Gunn, Riley, Spike, Xander – get your butts downstairs. Make sure that it's not going to burst into flames anytime soon. Clear all the junk out and open the tunnel doors to let the smoke out. Girls, I'll get you the cleaning stuff and you guys can clear this place up. Giles, Wes and I will sort the office."

"Sure Cordy, I'll go and get Darla, tell her its over and then she can help too."

"Don't think that Granny knows how to clean. Always had minions." Spike's helpful comment was given all the attention that it deserved. It was ignored.

"Thanks Will. Well what are you lot waiting for – get!" With that command everyone moved towards their designated tasks. Spike was grumbling about the fact that he was the most flammable of the lot and was having to check on a fire, Buffy was muttering about feminism and Wesley was bemoaning his books whilst Giles tried to comfort him.

Cordy dumped the cleaning equipment in an ungainly pile in the middle of the lobby and moved into the office. It looked like the whirlwind from hell had hit it. It was a sea of paper and books and would take forever to sort out. Cordy had to wish that she had never gotten out of bed that morning. She knew that Buffy coming over was a bad idea. She bent to pick up the first book that she came to when she heard Willow thundering down the stairs.

"Darla's gone!"

Everyone was stood in the detritus that had been Cordy's room. She had put up a fight, but they had obviously come through the window and the door. The door had been broken down and bed sheets had been ripped off the bed. Books, shoes, bags and clothes had obviously been thrown at her attackers in an attempt to ward them off but they hadn't been deterred.

"Why would anyone want Darla?"

Giles' couldn't get his head around this attack. Of course they were used to diversionary tactics in Sunnydale but this was above and beyond. There had been at least thirty men downstairs, not to mention however many there were up here. Why so many for one normal woman? If she had had Slayer strength he may have understood it, but as it was…

"Didn't pretty boy have a crush on her?" Gunn's harsh tone spoke volumes of both his worry and his contempt for Wolfram and Hart.

"Who? Lindsay? I think that Angel mentioned something but… Surely he wouldn't go this far? I mean he may have been evil lawyer guy but he wasn't serial stalker guy! No way!"

"I have to agree with Cordelia. He may have had… feelings… for Darla, but those were Wolfram and Hart's Special Ops team. I doubt very much that he could use them for his own personal use."

Riley looked up at the others from where he had been examining the room for clues. These guys were better than some of the military ops that he had seen. The tactics were amazing. "There's nothing up here that will help us anyway. The guys were professionals, quick hit. In and out. The fight downstairs was just a distraction."

"That means that they have either been watching us all afternoon and waited until Darla was alone or…"

"Hotel's bugged." Gunn shrugged. "Angel's gonna have one hell of a fit."

On the name Angel, everyone froze. In all the excitement they had all forgotten that Angel would be absolutely distraught to find Darla missing. They were only really concerned because she was a fellow human and they wanted to know what Wolfram and Hart wanted with her. Angel actually cared for her. He had died for her. He would race of to save her from Wolfram and Hart as soon as he heard.

"Oh God! We have to phone Angel know and get him back here. We need to start looking for Darla right now!" Cordelia's voice was getting louder and louder. She took a deep breath and led the group out of the room. "Gunn, phone Angel. Tell him to get his ass back here now. Tell him that the Scoobies have arrived early and he's needed here. Do not mention Darla ok?"

"On it." Gunn ran down the last few stairs and over the phone.

"Wes, get Willow everything she needs for a tracking spell."

"He's not answering! Voicemail?"

"Voicemail? Gunn… he doesn't know…no… NO! ARRRGH!"

Cordelia folded in on herself as a vision turned her central nervous system to mush. Spike caught her before she hit the floor and tried to restrain her trashing but holding her was causing the chip to fire. He pushed her onto Wes and sat nursing a headache of his own.

"What's happening to her!" Willow looked panicked. Cordelia was in serious pain if the screaming was anything to go by. She looked as though she was having an intense epileptic fit. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and she was shaking all over.

"Vision. Gunn, tablets are in her drawer. Would someone fetch a glass of water?" Wesey's tone was brusque and business like, he'd obviously done this a hundred times over.

Anya hurried of to the kitchen whilst the others watched in horror. Gunn brought over a small tub of pills and handed a couple to Spike, who was in obvious pain. He actually felt sorry for the vamp. Sure he knew that he was an evil killer, but it was cruel to cage the demon like that and if there was one thing that Gunn detested it was cruelty. Spike offered him a watery smile of thanks and Gunn turned to pour a few into Cordy's waiting hand. She gratefully accepted the water that Anya offered. For the time being she made no move to get up from her place on the floor, supported by Wes.

"What did you see?" Wes brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Whatever she had seen can't have been good if the tears were anything to go by.

"A…Angel."

Tears began to fall down Cordy's cheeks.

"Oh God, Angel… Wolfram and Hart have him… They kidnapped him…"

At this news Cordelia had everyone's undivided attention. Buffy was gritting her teeth and baling her fist, Spike had begun a low growl and his eyes had flickered gold, Gunn and Wes both had grim looks on their faces and the others were an undecided mix of concern, anger and frustration.

"Cordelia? Did you see anything that might tell us where they have taken Angel?"

"And Darla."

Everyone turned to look at Anya. She raised a delicate eyebrow at their stupidity. "They've taken the both of them; chances are that they'll have them together somewhere."

Both Wes and Giles wanted to slap themselves that they hadn't seen this link. They were trained to look for patterns and the like and they had both missed this vital link.

"Anya's right. They have the both of them for some reason. We don't have time to worry about that, we have to find them before anything happens. Cordelia?"

Cordelia ran her hands over her face, scrubbing at her eyes in frustration. She took a deep breath and went back into her vision. It was different from any vision that she had ever had before. It was as if she was in another person's mind. A not too sane person. She began to methodically say what she saw or felt and Willow dutifully wrote it down.

"Ok, well there was Lindsay and Lilah… Stars… Roof… There was the smell of… I want to say… manure. Umm… wait, wait, wait… Darla's bound to a chair… Angel on the floor, bound tightly… there's someone else… someone they know… Angel is scared and the person's laughing… I can't see anymore. It's all just random thoughts."

"Ok well that's good. You rest now."

Wesley steered her to the sofa.

"Good? Good! What the hell was good about that? She told us nothing!" Buffy was pacing the lobby like a caged lion.

"Back off Blondie! Cordy's visions aren't always clear; we just have to look at it without panicking." Gunn turned away from the girl that was really testing his patience. "Cordy, you said manure and a roof? That makes no sense."

"Unless, there's a green house or nursery on a roof in LA. It's not like there is much room on the ground." Willow was chewing on the pen as she tried to look at each clue in an analytical way. They really didn't make that much sense.

"Nursery… that… the other person! They were thinking about a nursery… about… about… about a birth? They wanted to have their children… under the stars. They had to get the nursery ready. A greenhouse though?"

"They're sometimes called plant nurseries." Willow didn't look up from the list.

"Oh. So we're looking for a roof-top greenhouse."

"With Wolfram and Hart connections."

Willow grabbed Cordelia's laptop, luckily it hadn't been damaged in the raid. She quickly connected to the internet. Using Cordy's bookmarks she began her hunt for Wolfram and Hart properties, going over the list next to her and conferring with Wesley whenever she thought that she had a match. The others spent their time both hovering and tidying. Buffy kept dogging Cordelia for more information, insisting that she must know more. Finally she was dragged away by Xander, who saw how pained and worried Cordy looked, and decided that both girls needed a time out.

Spike sat on the steps and thought. People often underestimated his intelligence. It was their downfall usually. He had gone to Cambridge and received a first in English. He had plotted with the most Machiavellian demon the world had ever known and spent his leisure time making up riddles for Angelus and translating the ones he was given. His mind was good at looking outside of the box and at the moment everything was telling him that there was something else here. He ignored the movement and noise around him and let his mind drift. He closed his eyes and let the words flow over him.

Stars… Roof… Nursery… Children… Stars… Stars… Stars!

He leapt to his feet.

"Dru! Drusilla's here! They've brought Dru here and she's going to turn them!"

Everyone had stopped what they were doing. A broom hit the floor with a resounding clatter and there was a tinkle as glass dropped from a loosely gripped dust pan. Everything had just gotten a whole lot more serious.

"Are you sure?" Wesley really didn't need to know the answer to that question. It made perfect sense. In a sick and twisted way.

"Oh yeah, 'Children under the Stars'? A nursery? Classic Dru. She'd want them to rise properly and she loved the garden in Sunnydale. Who else would you bring in to Sire Angel and Darla?"

The looks on the faces of all the people in the lobby told him that they totally understood what he was telling them.

"Who's Drusilla?" Gunn, Riley and Tara all happened to speak at the same time, all overlapping one another. The look of horror on the faces of all gathered told them that whoever she was, there was no way that she was the tooth fairy.

"She's a vampire, driven insane and turned by Angelus. She's Spike's Sire. Together the four of them ripped Europe to shreds."

"Yeah, good times…" Spike had a small smile on his face. It faltered when he received ten identical death glares. "What? They were." He moved back to his seat on the step.

There was a long silence. Everyone had stopped their conciliatory work on tidying the lobby and deflated into the chairs and sofas. The only sound that could be heard was the clicking of Willow's fingers on the keyboard and the flipping of pages as Wes and Cordelia tried to find something in the phone books. Spike twirled a cigarette around in his fingers. He knew that his face was the perfect mask of calm but on the inside there was nothing but an icy fear. He didn't want Angel to die. With everything he was, he didn't want Angel to die. If Angel did or if he was turned, Spike had no doubts that he'd lose him.

They'd been getting on so well recently. Granted Angel had spent much of that time confined to bed because of his injuries but it had given them chance to talk. They'd joked and laughed like they had done a hundred years ago. They'd talked about the times that Angel could bear to think about. They'd laughed about the times that Darla had lost patience with the pair of them. They'd sat and winded Darla and Cordelia up for hours. Spike had taught Angel loads about current culture and reminisced about the culture that they had both grown up in, agreeing that this time was sometimes so foreign.

Angel had even flirted with him.

It was like he had Angelus back. But an Angelus that could care, that didn't hurt or mock. He imagined that this was actually Liam. Darla had often told tales of how wild and fun Liam had been but Spike had been unable to see it in the pure vicious destructiveness that had been Angelus' fun. Sure he'd been fantastic company as a vampire and he'd never actually tried to destroy them as he did to all the people he went after but Spike had always been wary of the older vampire. Angelus had a fiery temper and Spike had never wanted to be the focus of his wrath. Yet he had wanted the vampire beyond belief. Wanted to mean something to him. Wanted to be more than just a protégé and hunting partner. He wanted back the night that Angelus had claimed him as part of the family. He'd been close to getting it as well. At the end Angelus had spent more and more time with him and less with Darla and Dru. It had been almost perfect and then that bloody gypsy girl had come along.

Then there had been Angel. So tortured by his past and fighting his own nature that he had been unable to be around Spike. Angel had explained it to him one afternoon. He'd told him that the soul was Liam's soul and yet it co-existed with a demon. He, Angel, was the product. He was torn apart by grief. By the human part of him that so desperately wanted to be a man and that couldn't bear what his demon self had done with his body. By the demon who wanted to go back to everything that he had been before. He was the middle ground and it destroyed him a little more everyday. He'd told Spike that in many ways it was like the chip, the blood lust was there, but the horror and the revulsion that the soul felt meant that he couldn't bear it.

He also told him that they were and weren't separate entities. It was more like they were the extremes of one entity and Angel was the unhappy medium. He was Angelus and he was Liam and he was neither. Angel had been trying to work it out as he told Spike, but he got the gist. Angel was now free of the extremes and so he was back to being the fun Irish boy, but he was all grown up now. He still felt guilty but that guilt had eased, mainly because he had no blood lust. He could think about the past and laugh because he couldn't be dragged back there. He had stopped walking the tightrope that had been his life. And Spike wanted him more than ever.

If Angel died, he'd lose what he'd come to adore over the past few days, the cheeky, funny yet sensitive individual that was the real Angel. He desperately didn't want to lose that. especially not to Dru.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a shrill squeal from their resident hacker.

"Oooh! Ooh! I think… Wesley… look!" Willow spun the laptop so that Wesley could read it. A few seconds later and he was jotting down an address and pulling his jacket on.

"Have you your cars here?" When everyone nodded Wesley continued as Gunn handed weapons out. "Ok, Gunn, you, Spike and me will go in your truck, everyone follow us. Cordy, here's a copy of the address should you lose us. There's a map and third copy here for the last car. Keep up. Gunn won't be driving slowly. Any questions?"

"What do we do if they've been turned?" Willow's voice was little more than a whisper.

"Kill them." Riley didn't have any qualms about that. Vampires were evil and needed to be stopped. His arm was caught in a vice and he was staring into two deadly blue eyes.

"No. We bring them back here and deal with it." Wes was not messing about. "Spike, will you be alright to kill Drusilla?"

"If I have to." He hated having to consider it.

"She's dust." Buffy held Mr. Pointy firmly in her hand. Cordy couldn't help but nod in agreement as she loaded another crossbow bolt into her little crossbows.

"Anything else? Right, let's move."

As they marched out of the door none of them could ignore the icy grip of fear that clenched in their gut.